Comments by "Peter Jacobsen" (@pjacobsen1000) on "Good Times Bad Times" channel.

Everybody I know in Shanghai share the same sentiment: Things are not going well.
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The 'they want the oil' theory is one of the most common heard theories when trying to explain conflicts. But oil isn't that important a resource. There is plenty of oil all around the world. Literally every continent (except Antarctica) has oil, it's not a scarce resource, and oil is readily available on the global market at the daily market price. There is as little reason to wage war over oil as there is to wage war over iron ore. People said the Gulf War, the Iraq War and The Syrian War were all about oil, but nobody ended up taking the oil, or even attempted to take the oil. Whether it's the US, or Russia, or China, or the EU, everybody is quite happy to just buy oil from whoever is willing to sell it.
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@Adriaticus True, but hating Brussels is a favorite pastime among Europeans, and it's not the kind of hate that leads to war.
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@lynnjohnny01 "What's your point?" My point is that people in Shanghai, and presumably in other parts of China, no longer feel optimistic about the economy. Surveys show that, too.
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"The best thing you can do is encourage them to take up smoking and skydiving." There are many more options: Tornado chasing, moving to Chicago's West Side, close-up volcano observer, down-hill skiing, spitting on Kim Il Sung's statue in PyongYang, open an Atheists' Society in Kabul, join a Mexican drug cartel, etc..
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Haha, that's a cold-blooded comment. Now more of you are in the EU, you can direct your anger and hatred toward Brussels, so you can all agree on who to hate. That's how we get peace.
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I can't say I understand it completely, either, but isn't the difference that during WW2, the US had huge capacity for building various arms? They were already at war and were churning out weapons like hamburgers. Now, on the other hand, even with the same kind of deal, the US don't have the industrial capacity to ramp up weapons production so suddenly. So Lend Lease or not, if there is not equipment, there's also none to send. As the video quotes someone: "The West moves slowly, but in the long run, we have the ability to out-produce anyone, it just takes time". Time, meaning years. Europe comes unprepared because we have just lived through the longest period of unbroken peace in the last 600 years.
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Thank you. Good video!
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I completely agree with the OP, but I don't think there is any nefarious purpose. Rather, they worry that viewers will change the channel if they go too deep into any topic. They understand that to keep viewers in their seats, coverage of any topic must be exciting, colorful, emotional, moralistic, superficial, offering simple solutions to complex problems, lots of CGI and video. At best, they offer 'news-tainment', not education. This is especially the case with US media. Just look at the hosts: They all have to look good, with perfect hair and bright smiles, as if that has any relevance to what goes on in the world and in society.
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"China will face a devastating famine and political instability". This is the kind of hyperbole Peter Zeihan is famous for. Peter Zeihan's predictions are akin to those predictions about climate change we sometimes hear: That the world is about to end in the next few decades. Climate change is a real problem that needs to be solved, but it is not too late to work on it. Likewise, food shortages are a problem China needs to solve, but it is not too late to work on it. Peter Zeihan's predictions may come true, but only if nobody lifts a finger to do anything about the problems.
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"China will face a devastating famine and political instability". This is the kind of hyperbole Peter Zeihan is famous for. Peter Zeihan's predictions are akin to those predictions about climate change we sometimes hear: That the world is about to end in the next few decades. Climate change is a real problem that needs to be solved, but it is not too late to work on it. Likewise, food shortages are a problem China needs to solve, but it is not too late to work on it. Peter Zeihan's predictions may come true, but only if nobody lifts a finger to do anything about the problems.
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"there are massive problems with our civilization". Could you give a list of the most massive problems with our civilization? I hope it doesn't include 'trans-activism' or 'loss of the traditional family' because those are microscopic problems that will solve themselves.
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@Freshie55 Ok, the mass shootings and homelessness are serious problems that ought to be solved. They can be solved if the will is there, but it isn't. People say homelessness can be solved with affordable housing, but any affordable housing will just be taken up by young people why were staying with their parents before. The homeless will still be homeless. A better (but heartless) way is to simply ban sleeping in the streets and enforce it. Mass shootings is harder to solve without even more draconian measures. In any society, we have a choice: More freedom and less safety; or more safety and less freedom. It's finding that sweet spot that's so hard.
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